Behind a cloud of smoke / 11:35 / the districts all alone / it must be an off night / a demon came to lure me from my sleep / with candy on his breath and nikes on his feet / he takes me by the hand / and then takes my guitar / the hair on his face looks like gold silk that's been newly spun / playboy walking through the door / his iron suit no more / affinity no more / an ancient horoscope / if you live by the sword you'll still die next to the soda gun / close your eyes / count to 4 and down you go / get your hands on some steel / 10 and O down on your steering wheel / close your eyes down the road and down you go
Pedal boards are resumes / rusting strings are pickup lines /single? Double shot? / it's all the same / stay and rumble lucky number / lower lights make you feel stronger
Night on the town it's almost 2 am in your black carriage of death / me on my white steed with the subwoofer thighs / just passing by / and the liquor store signs seem to pave the way / they're neon roses in the dark / and their stems reach down into the parking lot / you hold them up / everyone wants to know where you've been / were you hiding half their lives? / and they say: oh the birds seem to sing when you're near it's the sweetest…../ and their knees buckle when you approach / they all fumble with the locks / and they say: even motors synch up when you're near / it's the sweetest…..
Metal spray paint fails / metal spray paint fails / it's a shiny runny mess underneath my lust for you
Only a demi-god could spit and growl and make it rhyme as well as you / you're a blur of motion and obscenities / a 3 act play of vanity…..
Metal spray paint fails….
You're a chrome plated engine serenade / you're a gamble / a blockade / there's no getting through to you / You're a chrome plated engine serenade / you're a titan in the fray / heated up and resolute / metal spray paint fails / metal spray paint fails / it's a shiny runny mess underneath my lust for you
Never shy away from all the crowds that come your way or their widening blue eyes that shine and shine / and there ain't nothin' on the god-damned line that we can ever dry inside / put your jaw at ease / let your arms drop down / let it all go black / 'cause you're stepping out / tell yourself that It's o.k. / 'cause there's no one really listening anyway / and your skill is searing my naïve and staggered seams / and your goodbye echoes through the middle of me
And the constellations are counting out the next 4 songs/ and the drunks are all inspired to sing with you / and you know that you will probably misplace the beat / 'cause you put that fool orion on the 2's / but you know that it's o.k. 'cause there's no one really listening anyway
Inspiration comes in many forms / you my friend are one / the smell of jasmine coming in through my car door / the smell of you freshly bathed turning back / I saw you standing outside of the 711 / I know that's a beer in your hand / and even though more recent things have turned out wrong we're still the summer's biggest sham / lets see you hide that in a brown paper bag / the jars quake in the kitchen when you call my name / your cologne evaporates into air / the nervousness and sideways looks can all go away once you're pressed tight up against my frame / go on / do it / I know you can handle it
A king in the summer heat's opening bout / and your poorly timed sandscreen returned to the ground / and you tell him that you cannot explain yourself / you're a high handed actor with marbles in his mouth / when I woke up on the 26th day of the month with a blind arrogance that was hospital strength / I was taken by the safer things I'd tried to accept and knocked down by the weaker things pushing my chest / and the trick is to step out thinking it's not as rough there as they all had you believe / I want you back before sunset / please put your pride down and let yourself walk free / I want you 4 square on my terms / you know it's never late / to make these things run clean / and my back hurts but I can stand for hours / and I can sing for days / and I can run for years / and I'm not trippin' as much as I am backsliding into a plan I thought had run through me a long long time / but see the streets are quiet until I can speak / and that's still not happening and the guys they all went home right after dark
I knew it would break son / he was starvation with an end around the block / and the streetlights cast the only abstinent shadows / dude next to me looks like a model in his brand new car / and I'm going going back back to cali cali 'cause all my alloy is rust / I'm going going back back to cali cali 'cause squeeking wheels aren't half as fun when they're not rolling / you're in control then / you got a tap into your slim American dream and nearly broke it but it's still working and it feels right / they told me you'd break me / they told me you'd take me for everything I was worth / they told me you'd break me and there I stood thinking that it all could get much worse / with the beat still playing in my head / and in the final sort I'm the victor I'm the goal / I'm the intangible vapor that's locked in and then goes / and you're still wide awake / you're my hopeless 4 a.m. / tied an anchor to your car 'cause I don't need it today / and I'll just keep on drivin' past my new home 'cause it's sad that it's 8 o'clock again and I'm still not done with you / with this / with everything that comes and goes when you're with him
And there stood Arthur with the last of his unqualified knights / and remember when we used to hold the city on your cuff? / it was gray if gray was vibrant but it never was enough / and no monolith could climb above the structure of your back / and no cataclysm stronger than the echo of your laugh / now freeways keep crossing / lines keep crossing / the breathing goes str8 to my head / and I don't need liquor and I don't need valor / their breathing goes str8 to my head / and it was you that let me run free / and it was you that never wanted me / no more breakup premonitions / new beginnings old addictions / it was you that let me run free / you're too brave to realize you no longer have a home / and you're checking for a heartbeat or a vibrating cell phone / and there are things that the setting sun can not offer me / the deep bronze of your skin and the blue of your jeans / the knuckles of a fighter / the throat of a king / and it was you that let me run free / it was you that never wanted me / so ignore the stains of yard grass or the tans I get from park lamps / it was you that let me run free
Dogs will howl my name and my doings in the night / you'll hear my tires coming like ravens deep in flight (like angels in a line) / tired of the driving / tired of the avenue / like buddies split the difference / like that I am split too / how I've grown / every armor bestowed / how I've grown / I see you no more / my heroes have reformed / their guilt is their new throne / with photos in their phones / ready for confessional / come my beau discouraged by all / come my beau we'll have beer help us along / come my beau I've been waiting for it all night / come my beau let the cleaning crew take flight